right now: on my radar

My big sister's music. Her arrangements are getting more gorgeous all the time. Case in point.

The Honest Toddler. I don't really go for humor blogs, but this one is hee-larious.

French onion soup sandwiches, aka heaven on a plate.
Southwest-style sweaters in bright colors. This one's sold out, anyone know of something similar?
Seedfolks. A beautiful little morsel of a book. It would be amazing for a book group.
Field Study + simple strip quilt. I need to make this happen.

Safer birth in a barn. Oh yes.
Growing out a pixie cut, month by month. Rachel is my hair muse.
aaaand...
These guys.

max's birth: vaccinations, cps, and home to hospital

A couple of questions/follow-ups after Max's birth story. 

FIRST:

A few months ago, I asked friends on Facebook about sidestepping newborn vaccinations in New York State, which is famously persnickety about things like this (you know, civil liberties and stuff). Lots of opinions, ideas, and experiences were shared. I'm not anti-vaccinations -- both our girls are fully vacccinated -- but something in my mommy-gut just doesn't like shooting newborns full of stuff they didn't arrive here with. Whether there's any merit to it or not (read: please let's not quibble in the comments, this is just my personal choice), I like to delay all vaccinations for at least a few days, if not weeks or months. 

The Hep B vaccine was easy to sidestep. Vitamin K and the eye ointment were another story. Some sources indicated that a refusal on those accounts would lead to a call to CPS. Turns out they were right. When we said "no" to those procedures, they sent in a sympathetic nurse to chat us up about it. We still said "no." Then they sent in a nice pediatrician to discuss it further. We still said "no." Then they sent in a different nurse (the bad cop nurse?) who told us the social services representatives were on their way, and if we still said "no," they'd have to call CPS. 

REALLY?

Well, yes, really. And from what we've heard, CPS + the Army is not something you want to get tangled up with. So at that point we called it a day and told them to go ahead with the blasted Vitamin K and eye ointment.

SECOND:

A few people have asked why I went to the hospital for this baby after having loved Maren's home birth so much. Simple answer -- there aren't any legal home birth midwives in our area. I found one underground midwife whose training and certification meet most states' laws, but New York is (guess what!) stricter than most states. 

That said, I was really pleased with our hospital experience. I felt that my choices and preferences were both heard and honored, and the nurses were awesome. And let's be honest, it's nice to be able to send the baby to the nursery at 4 in the morning when all you want to do is sleep.

at dusk on a wednesday

* maren floated down the stairs one day with this wig on her head. my friend helen & i laughed forever.
* the girls have started randomly yelling "whu-BAM!" at appropriate (and inappropriate) moments.
* i just started the last book of the zion covenant series. i've liked it a lot.
* i am gardening with bliss and abandon.
* the baby will show up about the same time as the tomatoes.
* the garden primer and square foot gardening make me feel like i have an inkling what i am doing.
* we started composting again. holes drilled into a garbage can with a locking lid, rolled around in the yard every few days.
* there is a doorway of juniper that leads from one part of the backyard to another. it makes me think of narnia.
* i started making my to-do lists in pencil. that way i can erase the stuff that didn't get done and i don't care about at the end of the day anyway.
* i am making a ridiculous cake for book group tomorrow.
* i am getting huge.
* this is not an exaggeration.
* if this is what a third pregnancy is like, i'm a little nervous about the fourth.
* i don't believe anyone who tells me it's just because it's a boy this time.
* i loved michelle duggar's post on letting go of expectations.
 * we finally caved and bought a blender.
* this has thrown us into the daily quest for smoothie nirvana.
* have you tried putting an avocado in a smoothie? it's incredible.
* i am burying myself in books until nice weather comes back: organic body care, simple modern sewing, natural health, last child in the woods.
* i totally pre-ordered some ed emberley to make some pants for the boy. kid needs clothes, right? that's what i thought.
* i think we're all caught up now. how are you?